Kiss the Blarney Stone and get lucky at the D

In Vegas, once a hotel/casino is gone, it’s typically forgotten. So if I were to tell you that you can experience a piece of Fitzgeralds this St. Patrick’s Day, you’d probably say, “Fitzgeralds? What’s that?”

The Blarney Stone in her heyday at Fitzgeralds (www.inetours.com).

So here’s a wee history lesson: Fitzgeralds, or the Fitz as abbreviation-enthusiasts like to call it, was an Irish-themed hotel and casino on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. Among it’s legions of green was a rubbed-o’-plenty Blarney Stone from Blarney Castle, Country Cork, Ireland. The stone sat inside the Fitz Player’s Club for several years bringing many-a-player good luck and fortune.

Then came the fateful day that the Fitz became the even further abbreviated the D, and the Blarney Stone was seemingly sent off to greener pastures.

But as it turns out, the Fitz actually passed its stone (which is not nearly as painful as it sounds) to the D. And now — just in time for St. Patrick’s Day — it’s back to share the love. The Blarney Stone will serve as a permanent beacon for luck-inspired kissing and rubbing at Vue Bar in the Vintage Casino on the D’s second floor.

Following your stone snuggle session, you can test your newly contracted lucky streak in the casino — you may even earn an “I Got Lucky at the D” T-shirt. You’ll fit right in with your festive, green shirt downstairs at LONGBAR as you mingle with leprechauns and enjoy St. Patrick’s Day parties and drink specials. Live entertainment takes place all weekend on the Third Street Stage, just outside the D’s entrance on the Fremont Street Experience.

And even though you two grew so close, the Blarney Stone will have to stay behind. Just don’t forget to call.